He was embraced more than a high school quarterback on a Friday night postgame date, but escaped the tentacles of veteran Rico Ramos often enough to win a surprisingly lopsided decision at the Fantasy Springs Casino, and thus pushed his record to 20-0.

“You’re going to see a star born tonight,” predicted trainer Hector Lopez, a couple of hours before the first bell.

It is hoped somebody did, although the Showtime audience might have dwindled with the passage of each uneventful round.

Ramos, 27, who was undefeated until he got decked by Guillermo Rogindeaux early last year, stationed himself across the street from Rios and waited for the Santa Ana kid to lunge. When Rios did, Ramos either countered or tied him up.

This strategy could have frustrated Rios, who was hoping to both win and look good for the national cable audience. It certainly annoyed the onlookers.

In the third round Rios found a way to liberate himself, and in the sixth round he began teeing off on Ramos’ ribs.

He also moved closer to Ramos, who had demonstrated he couldn’t stagger the challenger, and those were the moments that seemed to win Rios the fight.

But the judges had already rewarded Rios for at least showing some initiative. He won 100-90, 97-93, and 96-94, the latter judgment coming from Pat Russell, the respected referee/judge.

“I wanted to be aggressive,” Rios said. “But, a couple of times, I got in there and thought I might get hit with careless shots. I started getting hit with little slaps. Not hard, but I didn’t want to give up any points.

“When he came to me I was able to get off some good punches. I knew I could catch him with some overhand rights. It wasn’t perfect. I could have used the double right hand a little more. But it’s a W and we’ll go from there.”

It was an outcome that justified the risk that manager Frank Espinoza took when he lined up Rios with Ramos, an L.A. native who now lives in Pico Rivera.

It wasn’t necessary for Rios to stop Ramos, but the truth is that he has only nine stoppages in his 20 fights. He is not the type of fighter who appeals to a fan’s bloodlust. At least not yet.

“We’re trying to get Ronny to sit down on his punches a little bit more,” Lopez said earlier this week. “It’s the next step for a fighter. There have been a lot of examples of fighters who learn how to take out guys as they get more confident.”

One example might be Andre Ward, who was not considered terribly crowd-pleasing, except in Oakland. But when Ward finished Chad Dawson in front of his homefolks last September, he became a much hotter ticket.

Rios cracked Ramos impressively when he went rib-hunting.

“When you’re a fighter, you know,” Rios said. “You hit a guy with a body shot and you hear that ‘oooh.’ I heard that from Ramos right after the one shot and I don’t think he threw a punch for the next few seconds. I could tell I did a little damage there.”

It was also an impressive night for Rios because Ramos was the one under career pressure. One loss is survivable. Two? Not so much, and it might be a while before Ramos gets such a stage again.

Rios, meanwhile, does not turn 23 years old until Jan. 22.

“This was important for me,” Rios said. “Ramos only had one loss, and that was to a guy a lot of people are scared to fight.”

He had called the Showtime opportunity “a career-changing event” beforehand, but he also said he wanted this to be “an action fight,” which it wasn’t, unless you enjoy anaconda wrestling.

“It’s hard to win when you’re moving backward,” Lopez said later. “I think Ronny said he got hit with two punches the whole night. When I heard the first score was 100-90, I knew we had it.”

The next step will be determined by Espinoza and Golden Boy. Rios has 90 days to settle on a defense of this stepping-stone belt, but won’t do anything to endanger his chances of winning a real one.

“We worked Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s, never missed a day,” Lopez said. “It’s time to relax and take a holiday.”

After all, there was a casino nearby. Rios was game for anything there. Except Hold-’em.

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